President Trump has yet to make an endorsement in Thursday’s Tennessee gubernatorial primary — and reportedly has no plans to do so.
Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.) has often touted her alignment with Trump in her bid to replace Gov. Bill Haslam (R). But Trump has no plans to dole out an endorsement for Black or any other Republican in the race, Politico reported.
The lack of a direct endorsement from the president runs counter to his tendency to hand out blessings to GOP candidates across the country on Twitter.
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On Tuesday alone, Trump tweeted out an endorsement of Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), reaffirmed his support Rep. Ron DeSantis’s (R) bid for Florida governor and tweeted his second endorsement of Rep. David Kustoff, another Tennessee Republican who is seeking a second term in the House.
For many Republican candidates in 2018, Trump’s endorsement is seen as absolutely essential because of its apparent power to boost other primary candidates to victory.
Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp came in behind Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle in the primary for the GOP gubernatorial nomination last month. But after snagging Trump’s endorsement, Kemp vanquished Cagle by nearly 40 points in a runoff election last week. Cagle, however, faced other difficulties in the weeks before the runoff.
In the GOP race for Florida governor, DeSantis has held a solid lead over Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, who has long been floated as a successor to the state’s current Gov. Rick Scott.
Black has for months been seen as the front-runner for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in her state, and has, in fact, won the endorsement of Vice President Pence.
But a recent poll showed businessman Bill Lee as the new front-runner, the Tennessean reported Sunday, fueling speculation that the race may be tighter than previously thought.